Coming home from work I used to pass through a notch in the hills called sugar hollow. The interesting thing about that place was that in late afternoon it lay at just the exact angle to block out most of the sun when it was low on the horizon. You would drive out of bright sunshine into a sort of twilight for a few miles. You never knew you were through the hollow until the shadows lifted and the sun came out again.

That passing through may be what you are experiencing today. Maybe everything seemed pretty normal in your life till unexpectedly the boss called you into the office or the doctor called about those test results. The bright sunshine of your day in a moment changed to a shadowy path. If you are at all like me it feels at those moments that even the most familiar of landmarks seem strangely different in darkness. That is the time to remind ourselves to hang on and keep going. We do not need to panic. Jesus has both called us to the other side and has promised to be with us as we pass through. Whatever deep river, hot fire or dark valley that lies ahead is only temporary. Soon the road He has chosen will lead us into the sunshine and all the way home!